29. Japanese Sports: Soccer, Baseball, Sumo Wrestling, Tennis, Judo, Karate, Kendo, Kyudo.

Sports in Japan are a significant part of Japanese culture. Both traditional sports such as sumo and martial arts, and Western imports like baseball and association football, are popular with both participants and spectators.

Soccer was introduced to Japan by British instructors at the Japanese Naval Academy in 1873. Over the years, the sport became popular at schools across the country and in 1921, a national soccer association was set up. But the lack of a professional league and the subsequent low standard of the national team meant that soccer remained a sleeper sport. For years there was only the Japan Soccer League, whose players were basically ordinary employees of their team's sponsor. As with amateur sport everywhere, most players actually had other jobs.

Soccer really took off in Japan in the 1990's. The first professional league, the J-League, was established in 1992 and kicked off in May of the following year. The league started with 10 teams - Gamba Osaka, JEF United Ichihara, Kashima Antlers, Nagoya Grampus Eight, Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Shimizu S-Pulse, Urawa Red Diamonds, Verdy Kawasaki, Yokohama Flugels and Yokohama Marinos. Between 1994 and 1998, eight teams (Avispa Fukuoka, Bellmare Hiratsuka, Cerezo Osaka, Consadole Sapporo, Jubilo Iwata, Kashiwa Reysol, Kyoto Purple Sanga, Vissel Kobe) were promoted from the lower Japan Football League (JFL) so that the J-League numbered 18 teams. At the end of the 1998 season, for the first time a team (Consadole) was demoted to the JFL and the two Yohohama teams merged due to financial problems and became the Yokohama F Marinos. Further tweaks to the system left the current numbers of 18 teams in the J-League, now called J1 and in the JFL, now called J2.

In addition to the leagues, there is the Emperor's Cup. This tournament is open to any soccer team in Japan, professional or amateur. There are regional playoffs to decide the teams from each prefecture and there are also places assigned for university teams. The qualifying teams and the JFL teams play in the first and second rounds and J1 teams receive a bye into the third round. The tournament is held in November and December with the final on New Year's Day.

The complicated rearrangements to the league came together with various changes to the rules of the game. The J-League was the first to use the Golden Goal rule, allowing the first team to score in extra time to win. Failure to score a Golden Goal meant games were decided on penalties - but the winning team got only 2 instead of 3 points. This was later changed so that drawn games are now possible. It's hard to say whether this multitude of changes to the game was an attempt to bring back fans who were drifting away from the sport or whether it actually caused the problem in the first place. Another part of the teething pains of the league was the financial aspect. When the league started, Japan had not yet really begun to feel the effects of the post-bubble economy. Some famous names from abroad such as Gary Lineker, Zico, Pierre Littbarski and Dunga came and lined their pension funds in the new league. With financial short-sightedness equal to that of the banks and trading companies, team rosters were bloated and players' salaries were sky-high. It's perhaps not surprising that a lot of encounters on the pitch seemed more like a clash of players' egos than ball skills.

This was particularly the case (unsurprisingly) with the Yomiuri-sponsored Verdy Kawasaki team. Although they were the first professional team in the country, as Yomiuri Nippon, their attempts to continue this name (Yomiuri Nippon Verdy, the Nippon implying that they were Japan's team) brought down the wrath of the other teams and the League. The team also boasted the talents of some of the best-known players, especially Miura Kazuyoshi or 'Kazu' and Ruy Ramos, a naturalized Brazilian. Kazu had spent some time playing in Brazil and his flamboyant style, on and off the pitch, won him many fans. After an unsuccessful 1998-9 season in Croatia, he returned to Japan to play for Kyoto Purple Sanga. Ramos in his prime was the key to both the Verdy and national teams, a natural 'midfield general' who could slice through defenses with his accurate passing.

The Japanese national team has come along well since the formation of the J-League. They surprised everyone with a 1-0 defeat of Brazil at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. The Olympic team again did very well in the 2000 Sydney games until a somewhat immature performance saw them lose to the US. They qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 1998 and the team's solid performance, despite not winning a single game, impressed many people. The talented young Bellmare midfielder Nakata Hidetoshi (1977~ ) particularly caught the eye and soon after the tournament he signed to play for Perugia in the Italian Serie A, later transferring to title contender AS Roma. Other players, such as Nanami Hiroshi, Jo Shoji and Nakamura Shunsuke made their way to Europe as the ability of Japanese players became more recognized.

The national youth team took the soccer world by surprise in the 1999 World Youth Championship in Nigeria, losing in the final to Spain. Hosting of the 2002 World Cup was awarded jointly to bitter rivals Japan and South Korea. But in the end, the organizational and technical skills of both countries overrode their ill feelings towards one another and the event was considered a great success. Japan qualified again for the World Cup in Germany in 2006, but failed to impress. As the initial ceelbrity culture around the J-Laegue has faded, the sport and the players have matured to the point that Japan has been able to challenge South Korea for dominance of the Asian region. The two countries qualified for the 2010 World Cup on the same day.

Baseball is one of the most popular sports in Japan. It was introduced to Japan in 1872 by Horace Wilson, who taught at the Kaisei School in Tokyo. The first baseball team was called the Shimbashi Athletic Club and was established in 1878. Baseball has been a popular sport ever since. It is called 野球 (やきゅう; yakyū) in Japanese, combining the characters for fielding and ball.

The professional baseball association is called Nippon Professional Baseball. Japan has two leagues, as in the United States. The Central and Pacific Leagues each consist of six teams. The Pacific League uses the designated hitter style of play. The pro baseball season is eight months long with games beginning in April, and a Championship held in October. Teams play 144 games, as compared to the 162 games of the American major league teams.

Corporations with interests outside baseball own the teams. Historically, teams have been identified with their owners, not where the team is based. However, in recent years, many owners have chosen to include a place name in the names of their teams; seven of the 12 NPB teams are currently named with both corporate and place names. Maruha Corporation has taken this one step farther by completely dropping its name from its NPB team, the Yokohama BayStars.

Nippon Professional Baseball started in 1920. It is called Puro Yakyū (プロ野球), which simply is a translation of professional baseball.

In 2005 the Japan Samurai Bears began playing in the Golden Baseball League, the first Japanese team in an American professional baseball league.

The Japanese first professional league was formed in 1936, and by 1950 had grown big enough to divide into two leagues. The Central League included the established teams; the Pacific League, which made up of new teams and players. Both leagues had 6 teams and adopted a playoff system, much like the American one. The contest between the league winners was named the Japan Series.

Sumo (相撲 sumō) is a competitive full-contact sport where a wrestler (rikishi) attempts to force another wrestler out of a circular ring (dohyō) or to touch the ground with anything other than the soles of the feet. The sport originated in Japan, the only country where it is practiced professionally. It is generally considered to be a gendai budō (a modern Japanese martial art), though this definition is incorrect as the sport has a history spanning many centuries. Many ancient traditions have been preserved in sumo, and even today the sport includes many ritual elements, such as the use of salt purification, from the days when sumo was used in the Shinto religion. Life as a rikishi is highly regimented, with rules laid down by the Sumo Association. Most sumo wrestlers are required to live in communal "sumo training stables" known in Japanese as heya where all aspects of their daily lives—from meals to their manner of dress—are dictated by strict tradition.

Judo (柔道 jūdō, meaning "gentle way") is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an opponent to submit by joint locking or by executing a strangle hold or choke. Strikes and thrusts by hands and feet as well as weapons defences are a part of judo, but only in pre-arranged forms (kata) and are not allowed in judo competition or free practice (randori).

The philosophy and subsequent pedagogy developed for judo became the model for other modern Japanese martial arts that developed from koryū (古流?, traditional schools). The worldwide spread of judo has led to the development of a number of offshoots such as Sambo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Practitioners of judo are called judoka.

Karate (空手) is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed partially from indigenous fighting methods called te (手?, literally "hand"; Tii in Okinawan) and from Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks, restraints, throws, and vital point strikes are taught in some styles. A karate practitioner is called a karateka (空手家?).

Gichin Funakoshi interpreted the "kara" of Karate-dō to mean "to purge oneself of selfish and evil thoughts. For only with a clear mind and conscience can the practitioner understand the knowledge which he receives." Funakoshi believed that one should be "inwardly humble and outwardly gentle." Only by behaving humbly can one be open to Karate's many lessons. This is done by listening and being receptive to criticism. He considered courtesy of prime importance. He said that "Karate is properly applied only in those rare situations in which one really must either down another or be downed by him." Funakoshi did not consider it unusual for a devotee to use Karate in a real physical confrontation no more than perhaps once in a lifetime. He stated that Karate practitioners must "never be easily drawn into a fight." It is understood that one blow from a real expert could mean death. It is clear that those who misuse what they have learned bring dishonor upon themselves. He promoted the character trait of personal conviction. In "time of grave public crisis, one must have the courage...to face a million and one opponents." He taught that indecisiveness is a weakness.

Kendo (剣道 kendō), meaning "Way of The Sword", is a modern Japanese martial art of sword-fighting based on traditional Japanese swordsmanship, or kenjutsu.[2] Kendo is a physically and mentally challenging activity that combines strong martial arts values with sport-like physical elements.

Kendo is a way to discipline the human character through the application of the principles of the katana. Kendo is practiced wearing a traditional Japanese style of clothing, protective armour (防具 bōgu?) and using one or, less commonly, two shinai (竹刀?) The clothing worn under the bōgu comprise a jacket (kendogi or keikogi) and hakama, a garment separated in the middle to form two wide trouser legs. A cotton towel (手拭い tenugui?) is wrapped around the head, under the men, to absorb perspiration and provide a base for the men to fit comfortably.

Kyudo or Kyūdō (弓道), literally meaning "way of the bow", is the Japanese art of archery. It is a modern Japanese martial art (gendai budō) and practitioners are known as kyudoka (弓道家?).

It is estimated that there are approximately half a million practitioners of kyudo today. In 2005 the International Kyudo Federation had 132,760 graded members, but in addition to this kyudo is taught at Japanese schools and some traditions refrain from federation membership.

Many Japanese high schools and colleges have kyudo clubs (bukatsu) in which students gather after regular classes to practice kyudo. Recently these have begun appearing in junior high schools as well, but it is generally left until high school because of the extreme danger of the sport. Because of the maturity needed in both mind and body to handle a bow and arrow, Japanese culture tends to prevent teaching kyudo until the age of 15 or 16.